Chapter Twenty-One

  We will never know how the emotions of our elders, the old people, began, because we are not interested in understanding. Now that our sacred fire is increasingly polluted by material things and emotions are also influenced by houses and cars, can't we think about the pure love of the older generation?

  Feng Hongyan let out a sigh and continued to pack things up. After a while, in the room, Ouyang heard his mother say to him: "I'm going out with your brother and grandma for a bit, you stay home and wait." Ouyang didn't pay much attention, glanced at the door, saw Ma Si holding a black plastic bag, didn't know what was inside, took a glance, then turned back to continue playing games. With Chinese New Year approaching, his mother's restrictions on him had also become more relaxed.

  Feng Hongyan chose a street corner not far from home, and Mais found that there were indeed many people burning paper at this intersection. Everywhere was filled with flames, the people burning paper silently did not speak, manipulating the tools in their hands, flipping the burning paper back and forth again and again.

  Something fell from Mais's face, was it tears? Mais wiped his face with his hand and said: "Nai, lao gu, it's snowing." Feng Hongyan raised her head, the black sky slowly descended with snowflakes.

  "Hurry up and burn it, or it won't be easy to light when the snow gets heavier." Feng Qinglian said, then walked into the warehouse at the entrance of the cave, and soon came out with a fire starter and some talismans. Mais clearly saw that the talismans had Grandpa's name written on them, as well as a few other names scattered about, which were not very clear to read.

  Feng Hongyan took out the lighter from her pocket, which was left by Ouyang Mubo. She didn't know if it would still work or not. After a while, the paper ignited.

  "Dad, are you doing well over there? Mom said she's coming to burn some paper for you today. It's almost Chinese New Year where you are too. I'm worried that my son and I don't have enough money to spend." Feng Hongyan said while using a fire poker to flip the papers, making sure each one was lit and wouldn't be extinguished by the snow-covered ground. Feng Qinglian stood for a long time before quietly squatting down and saying in a soft voice: "Old partner, rest assured, I'll take care of this family well. You wait for me over there, wait until our eldest son, second son, third son, and daughter are all settled, then I'll come find you, you wait for me."

  Mace didn't say a word, just stood there quietly, and something fell from Mace's face.

  This time, it's tears.

  The next day was New Year's Eve, and Ouyang and Mais were woken up early by Feng Hongyan, forcing them to wear red socks. Ouyang knew this was his mother's habit, even if it wasn't his own birth year, he had to wear red socks during the Chinese New Year, and in his birth year, he had to tie a red belt around his waist for good luck. Ouyang always thought that wearing red would bring smoothness, but Grandma said that one's birth year isn't necessarily a good thing, as there are many trivial matters throughout the year.

  After Ou Yang and Mai Si finished packing, they started helping with the household chores. The most important thing was the kitchen, where Feng Hongyan was trying to figure out how to seat over a dozen people. It seemed feasible, but the space might be cramped. Just as she was thinking this, there was a knock at the door.

  Ouyang opened the door, it was Feng Xiaodong.

  "Brother, why did you come so early?" Ouyang asked with a smile.

  Feng Xiaodong nodded and said, "Isn't it because my mom asked me to come over and help? What can I do?" Then he walked into the kitchen. Feng Xiaodong brought a large pile of vegetables, fruits, and pork. Ouyang had never seen his family's refrigerator and balcony being stuffed so full before. He thought to himself that this probably only happens during Chinese New Year.

  Mais heard that his elder brother had arrived and was very happy, shouting for Feng Xiaodong to help move the table. After a while, Ou Yang's second uncle and his family also arrived. Ou Yang's second uncle's family has a sister named Feng Chunyan. Second Uncle Feng Xianglin is an honest and kind-hearted worker. To say that he is honest and kind-hearted, but actually, Eldest Auntie Feng Manyan thinks that Second Uncle is somewhat narrow-minded and unwilling to communicate with others. Moreover, even Ou Yang and Mais can see that Feng Manyan and Feng Hongyan don't particularly like Second Uncle's family. Second Auntie still asks about the cold and warmth as soon as she enters the door, asking Feng Hongyan if Ou Yang's father will come back for Chinese New Year, then goes to the kitchen to help with cooking.

  Feng Xiaodong and Feng Chunyan are of the same age, although Feng Chunyan doesn't talk much, they can still chat together. During their conversation, Xiaodong asked about Feng Chunyan's illness. This is something that Ouyang knows, his sister Feng Chunyan has been in poor health since childhood, suffering from allergic purpura, and it seems that the medication didn't work well, resulting in some obesity. Fortunately, Feng Chunyan is an optimistic child, and her condition has improved significantly. Xiaodong mentioned that Chunyan will be taking the high school entrance exam next year, and Mais and Ouyang couldn't help but send their blessings to their sister.

  A group of children were chatting together when Feng Qinglian walked in from the door. Ouyang smiled, knowing that the annual "rich" day had arrived again. Previously, his mother would always deceive him by saying that he wouldn't need to return his allowance after entering junior high school. Now that he has finally entered junior high school, this red envelope money will naturally be put into his own pocket and not given to his mother.

  However, Feng Hongyan has a way to deal with this. She told Ouyang earlier that if he took the red envelope money from his grandmother without handing it over, she would no longer give him red envelope money. This can also limit the amount of red envelope money Ouyang receives. After giving each child a red envelope, Feng Qinglian looked at the happy faces of the four children and smiled with satisfaction.

  The whole family spent a pleasant morning together, the adults playing cards and chatting about family matters, while the children played on the computer and talked about their interesting experiences at school. Ouyang suddenly felt as if he had returned to the original Feng's home, that small but lively house where everyone was happy despite the crowded space. Just then, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law arrived, and since his sister-in-law's culinary skills were unmatched, she was naturally invited by Feng Hongyan to help out in the kitchen. As soon as she entered the kitchen, Feng's mother became her assistant.

  At noon, Mais was hungry and wanted to eat. He was stopped by Feng Qinglian. According to the normal rules, they would have one meal in the afternoon and then eat dumplings directly at night. Xiao Dong saw that Mais was really hungry, so he took a piece of mantou from the kitchen and gave it to Mais to fill his stomach first. Ou Yang knew that Mais had a big appetite. If he felt hungry, he must eat something.

  At around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, Mother had already called everyone to the kitchen. Ouyang took a look and it was indeed doable. The table was placed in the middle, with two people sitting on each side, and three positions on each side of the table, just right. It was just that when they sat down, it was a bit cramped. Ouyang's head was small, so he sat in the position for two people on the right side with his sister Feng Chunyan. Ouyang himself requested to sit closer to the door because he knew he would be the first one to finish eating.

  As expected, although there were over a dozen dishes on the table that made Ouyang very happy, he still finished eating early and ran to the living room to watch TV. Not long after, because of eating a mantou for lunch, Mais also ate quickly and went into the house. The two watched TV for a while, suddenly heard the sound of quarreling from the kitchen, so they stood outside the kitchen door to see if they could hear anything. However, Feng Xiaodong came out of the kitchen and saw the two brothers sneaking around, so he directly brought them back to the living room. Ouyang was puzzled, what could be debated on New Year's Day? Feng Xiaodong shook his head and said "I don't know either", then washed the playing cards, and the three brothers started playing cards.

  "Xiao Hong, this is absolutely not okay. It was all settled at the time, and it's only been a short while since then. If we move now, that person downstairs will also be unable to rest easy." The voice came from Feng Qinglian in the kitchen.

  "No, mom, don't be in a hurry, I just said that casually. I've asked someone to calculate it, and it's really possible to move dad's grave to the place I mentioned. You wouldn't want dad to stay in the countryside of D district forever, would you?" This was said by Li Hong, Ouyang's older sister-in-law.

  Feng Qinglian slammed down her chopsticks, trying to control her emotions, and said: "I'm still here for a day, this grave can't be moved. Your dad just passed away not long ago and you're already worried about this matter. Where were you when your dad was lying in bed?" As soon as she spoke, everyone at the dinner table fell silent, and Feng Chunyan walked out of the kitchen on her own initiative.

  After a while, under Feng Hongyan's persuasion, Li Hong finally agreed to Feng Qinglian's non-relocation of the grave, and of course, her two uncles did not say anything.

  "Ma Ke, where's your dad?" Feng Chunyan said as she walked into the house, addressing Ma Ke who was playing poker.

  Mais shrugged and said, "He's always busy with social events around this time of year, getting a ton of texts and calls. So my dad has developed a habit of inviting his friends over for dinner before the New Year, collecting all the gifts he needs to receive, just to avoid the hassle. I reckon he'll be back by the start of the Spring Festival Gala." When they heard the phrase "fox friends and dog friends", Ouyang and Xiaodong burst out laughing in unison.

  Mais thought about what he said and smiled, then asked: "How many blessing messages did you all receive? I received a lot, and I'm thinking of sending them to whom."

  Feng Chunyan said that she was sick and didn't go out, didn't go to school, only a few good friends sent each other text messages. Xiao Dong said that his dormitory mates all sent blessings to each other, then the three pairs of eyes turned to Ouyang who had just gotten his phone. Only then did Ouyang remember that he hadn't touched his phone from morning till now, and even more so hadn't thought about sending text messages or making phone calls to send blessings.

  "Ah, I forgot about sending a message," said Ouyang, patting his forehead. "My phone has been in my room all along. Let me go take a look."

  Ouyang quickly walked into his own room, thinking about the list of names for mass texting as he walked. When he picked up his phone, he saw that there were already many unread messages.

  "This is..." Ouyang stared at one of the short messages, unsure what to do.